1.
Olympique de Marseille
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Olympique de Marseille or simply Marseille, is a French football club in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the play in Ligue 1 and have spent most of their history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions ten times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times, in 1993, coach Raymond Goethals led the team to become the first and only French club to win the UEFA Champions League. In 1994, Marseille were relegated because of a scandal, losing their domestic trophy. In 2010, Marseille became French champions again under the stewardship of club captain Didier Deschamps. Marseilles home ground is the 67, 000-person-capacity Stade Vélodrome in the part of the city. The club has a large fan-base, having regularly averaged the highest all-time attendance in French football, Marseilles average home gate for the 2008–09 season was 52,276, the highest in Ligue 1. The stadium underwent renovation in 2011, going from its previous capacity of 60,031 to 42,000, following completion in August 2014, the final capacity is 67,000 ahead of Frances hosting of UEFA Euro 2016. The club is ranked 16th globally in terms of annual revenue, in 1997, Marseille was purchased by Franco-Swiss businessman Robert Louis-Dreyfus. Following his death in 2009, his widow Margarita became the majority shareholder in 2010. On 29 August 2016, U. S. businessman Frank McCourt announced a deal to buy the club from Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, the deal was completed on 17 October 2016. McCourt appointed businessman Jacques-Henri Eyraud as the president, with Rudi García appointed as the manager of the clubs first team. Olympique de Marseille was founded by René Dufaure de Montmirail, a French sports official, at first, rugby union was the most important team sport of the club, the motto Droit au but coming from rugby. Richer and better organised than other teams of Marseille, Olympique de Marseille, then playing at the Stade de lHuveaune. In 1904, Olympique de Marseille won the first Championnat du Littoral, involving opposing teams from Marseille and its suburbs, at that time, the word football applied to rugby, and people used the word Association for football. During the 1920s, Olympique de Marseille became an important team in France, the team won the French championship in 1929, defeating Club français. The Coupe de France in 1924 was the clubs first major title, won against FC Sète, in the 20s, numerous French internationals, such as Jules Dewaquez, Jean Boyer or Joseph Alcazar, played for Marseille. In 1930, Marseille lost against Sète, which would be the winner, in 1931, the team became champion of the South-East, with victories against rivals such as Sète

2.
Olympique Lyonnais
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Olympique Lyonnais is a French football club based in Lyon. It plays in Frances highest football division, Ligue 1, the club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The clubs most successful period has been the 21st century, the club won its first Ligue 1 championship in 2002, starting a national record-setting streak of seven successive titles. Lyon has also won a record seven Trophée des Champions, five Coupe de France titles, Olympique Lyonnais plays its home matches at the 59, 186-seat Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Décines-Charpieu, a suburb of Lyon. The clubs home colours are white, red and blue, Lyon was a member of the G14 group of leading European football clubs and are founder members of its successor, the European Club Association. Olympique Lyonnais is one of the clubs in France. A2009 survey found that about 11% of the football fans support the club. The clubs nickname, Les Gones, means The Kids in Lyons regional dialect of Arpitan, the chairman of Lyon is Jean-Michel Aulas and the club is managed by Bruno Génésio. Olympique Lyonnais also has a womens football team having won its league a record nine times. The womens team has won three Challenge de France titles and the UEFA Womens Champions League in 2011 and 2012. Olympique Lyonnais was initially formed under the multisports club Lyon Olympique Universitaire, on 3 August 1950, Louots plan came to fruition when Olympique Lyonnais was officially founded by Dr. Albert Trillat and numerous others. The clubs first manager was Oscar Heisserer and, on 26 August 1950, in just the clubs second year of existence, Lyon was crowned champion of the second division, securing promotion to the first division. The club maintained its first division place for the remainder of the decade, Lyon achieved moderate success during the 1960s and 1970s with the likes of Fleury Di Nallo, Néstor Combin, Serge Chiesa, Bernard Lacombe and Jean Djorkaeff playing major roles. Under manager Lucien Jasseron, Lyon won its first-ever Coupe de France title defeating Bordeaux 2–0 in the 1963–64 season, the club also performed respectably in the league under Jasserons reign until the 1965–66 season, when Lyon finished 16th, which ultimately led to Jasserons departure. His replacement was Louis Hon, who helped Lyon win their second Coupe de France title after defeating Sochaux 3–1 in the 1966–67 season, Lyon was managed by former Lyon legend Aimé Mignot heading into the 1970s. Under Mignots helm, Lyon won its third Coupe de France title in 1972–73, in June 1987, Lyon was bought by Rhône businessman Jean-Michel Aulas who took control of the club aiming to turn Lyon into an established Ligue 1 side. His ambitious plan, titled OL – Europe, was designed to develop the club at the European level, the first manager under the new hierarchy was Raymond Domenech. The aspiring chairman gave Domenech carte blanche to recruit whoever he saw fit to help the team reach the first division and they went on to accomplish this in Domenechs first season in charge

3.
AS Nancy
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Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine is a French association football club based in Nancy, Lorraine. The club was founded in 1967 and currently plays in Ligue 1, Nancy plays its home matches at the Stade Marcel Picot in Tomblaine, a commune located in the Arrondissement of Nancy. Nancy was founded as the successor to FC Nancy, which collapsed in 1965, the club has spent its entire life playing in either Ligue 1 or Ligue 2. Nancy has never won the first division, but has won the division on five occasions. Nancys biggest achievement came in 1978 when the won the Coupe de France defeating Nice in the final. The club has won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2006. Nancy is presided over by Jacques Rousselot, Rousselot serves as a vice-president of the French Football Federation and is also a member of the federations Federal Council. One of the clubs most notable players is Michel Platini, the president of UEFA. Platini began his career at the club in 1972, playing eight seasons with Nancy and he scored the only goal in the aforementioned Coupe de France final and won two French Player of the Year awards whilst playing with the club. Platini also established himself as a French international while at the club and went on to numerous team. He is considered to be, arguably, the clubs greatest player ever and, upon entering the section of the official website showing Nancys greats. Prior to the creation of AS Nancy, the city of Nancy was host to football by FC Nancy, FC Nancy was formed in 1901, while US Frontière was founded in 1910. Both clubs were a part of the Ligue de Lorraine, US Frontière dissolved in 1935, while FC Nancy continued to play football through the professional transition. The club achieved little during its 64 years of existence only winning the second division twice in 1946 and 1958. FC Nancy did reach the final of the Coupe de France in 1953 and 1962, however, the idea of a new club in the city was thought of by Claude Cuny in the spring of 1964. Cuny had previously worked with FC Nancy, but left the prior to its destruction. Cuny is considered one of the leaders of French football mainly because of his innovative ideas, after forming Nancy, he created the first youth academy of French football. Prior to the beginning its life as a football club

4.
Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
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Paris Saint-Germain Football Club is a French professional football club based in Paris, whose first team play in the highest tier of French football, the Ligue 1. The club was formed in 1970 by the merger of Paris FC, Paris Saint-Germain remain the only club to have never been relegated from Ligue 1. The Parisians are also one of only two French clubs to win a European title – the other being arch-rivals Olympique de Marseille, PSG are the most successful French club in terms of trophies won, with 32. Domestically, Paris SG have won six Ligue 1 titles, a record ten French Cups, in international club football, Paris have won one UEFA Cup Winners Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. PSG have always represented both Paris and nearby Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the capital side play their games in Paris at the Parc des Princes, while the Camp des Loges is located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Paris SG spent their formative years using the Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre, located in front of the Camp des Loges, Paris SG shares an intense rivalry with Marseille and contest the most notorious football match in France, known as Le Classique. PSG is the second-highest supported football club in France after OM, red, blue and white are the clubs traditional colours. And Paris est magique. are PSGs most popular mottos, the Red-and-Blues have hosted the Tournoi de Paris at the Parc des Princes since 1975. During the tournaments 2010 edition, PSG unveiled Allez Paris Saint-Germain, to the tune of Go West by Village People, Qatar Sports Investments has been the clubs owner since 2011. The takeover made Paris Saint-Germain the richest club in France and amongst the richest in the world. Currently, PSG have the sixth-highest revenue in the world with an annual revenue of €520.9 million. Towards the end of the 1960s, an group of businessmen decided to create a major club in the French capital. After a petition was signed by 20,000 people, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club were founded on 12 August 1970 with the merger of Paris FC, PSG are today the citys largest club by far, as well as Frances most successful club in terms of trophies won. Paris SG won the Ligue 2 title in their inaugural season, PSG have never formally been relegated from Ligue 1. However, the split into two in 1972. The professional arm of the continued life in the top-flight under the name of Paris FC. Paris returned to Ligue 1 in 1974, ironically the year that Paris FC were relegated. Since then, PSG have always played in Ligue 1, the clubs trophy cabinet welcomed its first major silverware in the shape of the French Cup in 1981–82

5.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town

6.
SC Bastia
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Sporting Club de Bastia is a French association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club currently plays in Ligue 1, the division of French football. The club plays its matches at the Stade Armand Cesari located within the city. Bastia is managed by François Ciccolini and captained by midfielder Yannick Cahuzac, Bastias main historical success include reaching the final of the 1977–78 edition of the UEFA Cup. The team was defeated by Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, domestically, Bastia won the second division of French football in 1968 and 2012, and the Coupe de France in 1981. During the clubs infancy, it was league champions of the Corsican League 17 times and they are the local rivals of Ajaccio and contest the Corsica derby. Bastia is owned by Pierre-Marie Geronimi, a French entrepreneur, and has been since 2011, Sporting Club de Bastia was founded in 1905 by a Swiss named Hans Ruesch. He taught German in high school in Bastia, the first president of Bastia was Emile Brandizi. The Corsican club celebrated its debut on the Place dArmes of Bastia, the club began its professional journey in 1965, in Division 2. After three successful seasons, it was crowned Champion of Frances Second Division in 1968, joining the elite, the first season was difficult, but the club still maintained its place. Thus began a decade widely considered the finest in club history, in 1977, Bastia finished third in the Division 1 with the best offence in the league, with magnificent Dragan Dzajic as a left winger and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The team eliminated successively Sporting Lisbon, Newcastle United, Torino, Carl Zeiss Jena, of all the victories, the 3–2 win in Turin made the most lasting impression, the Toro being undefeated for two seasons on their home pitch. It is also during this match that Bastia marks the best goal of that time, the final would, however, end with misfortune. First, with a first leg played at Furiani on an unplayable pitch, unfortunately, the Yugoslav referee postponed the meeting because of the proximity to World Cup in Argentina that was scheduled a few weeks later. Despite Bastias dominance, the meeting ended with a goalless draw, the final return,9 May, lasted only 24 minutes. This is the time it took Eindhoven to score the first goal, the townsfolk will attribute the defeat of Bastia to fatigue accumulated in the league and also the rain-soaked pitch in the first leg at Furiani. Bastia then realised the greatest moment in Corsican sport, three years after that final, the Bastia won its first trophy with the Coupe de France 1980–81. This was a victory for the Corsican club facing St. Etienne of Michel Platini

7.
Lille OSC
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LOSC Lille is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, Lille has played its home matches since 2012 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in nearby Villeneuve dAscq, which replaced the clubs previous home of Stade Lille-Metropole in the same community. The team is captained by French international Rio Mavuba, Lille was founded as a result of a merger between Olympique Lillois and SC Fives. Both clubs were founding members of the French Division 1 and Lillois was the inaugural champions. Under the Lille emblem, the club has won three titles in 1946,1954, and 2011 and six Coupe de France titles. Lille and Red Star FC are the only French clubs in the history to win the Coupe de France in three consecutive seasons. Lilles most successful period was the decade from 1946 to 1956 when the team was led by managers George Berry, Lille have a long-standing rivalry with its neighbours RC Lens. The two clubs regularly contest the Derby du Nord, Lille is presided over by Gérard Lopez, an entrepreneur-investor and an active Luxembourgish-Spanish businessman that invests in the sports industry. Before the Second World War, the city of Lille had two clubs in Ligue 1, Olympique Lillois and Sporting Club Fivois, weakened by the war, the two clubs decided to merge in the autumn of 1944, giving birth to Lille Olympique Sporting Club. Within its first decade of existence, the new club won two titles and reached the second place for four consecutive seasons. In the Coupe de France the club accumulated five wins in seven finals, the final of the Latin Cup was also reached. Lille was relegated for the first time in 1956, the club became a mid-table side and in the late 1960s, after a long period of anonymity, and weighed down by a lack of facilities and resources, Lille abandoned its professional status. It was feared that the club might disappear, however, some young leaders, such as Max Pommerolle, came and gave new impetus to the club. Nevertheless, the results remained erratic and the titles that ignited the fans passions were won in the Second Division. In July 1980, Lille was the first French club to opt for the status of a Mixed Economy Company, the team of presidents Amyot, Deschot and Dewailly all struggled to compete with the top teams in the country. Jacques Amyots resignation in 1990 led to three more years for the club which compromised its very existence. It took Bernard Lecomtes arrival in 1993 to set the club finances on the road to recovery, after a final relegation in 1997, the team trained by Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodžić was soon promoted back to the elite, in the same year the French Football League was privatised. In just its first season back in the top flight 2000–01 French Division 1, Lille qualified for Europe for the first time in the clubs history, booking its place in the 2000–01 Champions League

8.
Michel Platini
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Michel François Platini is a French former football player, manager and administrator. Nicknamed Le Roi for his ability and leadership, he is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon dOr three times, in 1983,1984 and 1985, and came sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. In recognition of his achievements, he was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1985, during his career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Étienne, and Juventus. Together with the midfielders Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana, Platini was his countrys record goalscorer until 2007, and holds the record for most goals scored in the European Championship despite only appearing in the victorious 1984 edition. Following his retirement as a player, Platini was the French national team coach for four years, from 2007, he served as the president of the Union of European Football Associations. He also held the positions of chairman of FIFAs Technical and Development Committee, in 2015, however, he was banned from football administration for conflict of interest by the FIFA Ethics Committee. Born in Jœuf, in the Lorraine region, Platini is the son of Aldo and Anna, Aldo was a professional footballer and a long-time director for AS Nancy, the club where Michel started his professional career. Platini was called up for a trial with Metz, but missed out on the opportunity due to injury and he returned to regional league football with Jœuf. Another trial at Metz went horribly wrong when a breathing test on a spirometer caused Platini to faint, the doctors verdict on Platinis breathing difficulties and weak heart ended any hopes Platini had of playing for his boyhood favorites. He then joined the side of his fathers club Nancy in September 1972. Platini was quick to make a big impression at his new club, further outstanding displays put him in contention for a place in the Nancy first team. His introduction to the squad was inauspicious. On the substitutes bench for a match against Valenciennes, Platini was spat on, playing for the reserves a few days later, a hefty challenge from an opponent left Platini with a bad ankle injury. His season would finish on a positive note, and he would go on to make his league debut against Nîmes on 3 May 1973. In March 1974, he suffered a setback when he sustained a fracture of his left arm in a match at OGC Nice. Platini missed the remainder of the season as a result, unable to assist Nancy in a bid to avoid relegation from Ligue 1. The following season saw Nancy win promotion back to the French first division with ease, Platini became the teams most important player, scoring 17 goals, a number of which were scored from free-kicks, as was becoming Platinis specialty. Saint-Étienne, the then reigning French league champions, were knocked out of the French Cup with two goals from Platini free-kicks, Platini practised his free-kicks with the help of his friend, goalkeeper Moutier, and using a row of dummies to form a defensive wall of sorts

9.
Parc des Princes
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The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. The stadium, with a capacity of 48,583 spectators, has been the home pitch of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. Before the opening of the Stade de France in 1998, it was also the home arena of the French national football, the Parc des Princes pitch is surrounded by four covered all-seater stands, officially known as the Présidentielle Francis Borelli, Auteuil, Paris and Boulogne Stands. Conceived by architect Roger Taillibert, the current version of the Parc des Princes officially opened on 4 June 1972, the stadium is the third to have been built on the site, the first opening its doors in 1897 and the second following in 1932. The Parisians recorded their highest average attendance during the 2015–16 season. Meanwhile, the record home attendance was registered in 1983. However, the French national rugby team holds the stadiums attendance record. They defeated Wales 31–12 in the 1989 Five Nations Championship in front of 50,370 spectators, originally, the site on which the pitch of Paris Saint-Germain stands was a hunting ground for members of the royal family in the 18th century, before the fall of the Bastille. This anecdote gave its name to the Stade Vélodrome du Parc des Princes, the “Princes’ Park” began its sporting history as a velodrome in the late 19th century. With 3,200 seats, the velodrome marked the history of cycling, the ground, which featured a cycling track until the end of the 1960s, was the finishing line for the final stage of the Tour de France from its first edition in 1903 until 1967. It also boasts a history as an international rugby venue. But it was not until 1903 that a football match was played at the Parc des Princes. In front of 984 paying spectators, a composed by the best Parisian players suffered a severe defeat to an England squad. Two years later, the French national football team contested their first ever match against Switzerland. However, the Parc des Princes lost protagonism with the construction of the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir for the 1924 Summer Olympics. In 1925, the Paris City Council, which owns the Parc des Princes and this allowed the Société d’Exploitation Sports-Evénements of the Parc to carry out a thorough renovation of the sports arena. The stadium was expanded to 45,000 seats, including 26,000 covered, but the capacity was quickly reduced to 38,000 seats to improve comfort. In spite of that, Match magazine published A new grand stage at the gates of Paris in its front cover of 19 April 1932